When you spell out Usher‘s name going forward, make sure you add DR. to the front of that thang!
The R&B King just received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music on Saturday (May 13).
The news was revealed back in April, but on Saturday the eight-time Grammy Award winner actually received his degree during the 2023 commencement.
Usher received his alongside fellow Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Roberta Flack during the ceremony that went down at Boston University’s Agganis Arena.
According to Berklee, this year’s honorary doctorate recipients will be celebrated and recognized for their invaluable contributions to the worlds of music and philanthropy. Past recipients from the college include Duke Ellington (the first, in 1971), Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones ’51, Celine Dion, B.B. King, Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, esperanza spalding B.M. ’05, Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Ringo Starr, Gloria Estefan, and John Legend.
One of the most dynamic entertainers performing today, global megastar Usher has won eight Grammy Awards, including his first, in 2001, for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “U Remind Me”; released eight studio albums; and sold more than 23 million albums in the U.S. and more than 80 million worldwide. Dubbed Billboard’s “number one Hot 100 artist of the 2000s” and “number two most successful artist of the 2000s,” and “one of the best-selling artists in American music history,” according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Usher catapulted four consecutive albums to number one on the Billboard Top 200, beginning with the diamond-certified Confessions in 2004. The album features four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number one singles—”Yeah!” (featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris), “Burn,” “Confessions Part II,” and “My Boo” (with Alicia Keys)—and the top 10 single “Caught Up.”
Usher has taken his musical pursuits from the performance stage to the small screen as a judge on NBC’s The Voice and on the big screen in the critically acclaimed film Hustlers. He has also distinguished himself as a devout humanitarian, raising tens of millions of dollars for various causes and uplifting youth via his New Look Foundation, which has provided opportunities for young people in underserved communities since 1999. He has also contributed to numerous philanthropic causes and historic advancements. He penned a moving essay in The Washington Post lobbying for the recognition of Juneteenth as a holiday in 2020, and has been honored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Trumpet Foundation, the international organization DoSomething, and by the NAACP as its 2010 Ford Freedom Award Scholar. He is equally at home on the stage of his sold-out My Way Las Vegas residency as he was on a 2016 government cultural mission to Cuba as part of President Barack Obama’s Presidential Committee for Arts and Humanities. That same year, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Later this year, Usher will release his ninth studio album.
via Berklee
Usher’s longtime producer and friend, Jermaine Dupri took to Instagram on Saturday to celebrate his brother as he attended the commencement in person.
Usher also shared his own snaps from the big day.
Congrats to Usher! We love to see it King!
